The invention disclosed and claimed herein generally pertains to the field of techniques and apparatus for analyzing light burst activity, that is, the emission of light in the form of discrete bursts, pulses or flashes, which are of extremely short duration. More particularly, the invention pertains to the above field wherein analysis is accomplished by detecting and counting discrete light photons produced by a light burst source during successive time intervals in a series of intervals, and then providing a probability distribution function of photon counts over the series.
A source of light burst activity which is of special interest is the bioluminescent life, and particularly the microorganic life, which is found in natural bodies of seawater. One reason for such interest results from proposals which are presently being made for a system which is intended to communicate through an ocean body by means of laser light signals. Because light signals passing through a seawater environment are subjected to a high degree of attenuation, the effects of bioluminescence on signal reception at a receiver in the environment may be very significant.
In studying the phenomenon of bioluminescence in seawater, certain questions have been posed. One such question is whether the emission of a light burst by one bioluminescent creature in seawater in some way causes nearby creatures to emit light, or whether adjacent creatures act independently of one another. Other questions are related to the structure or pattern of light emission, such as whether light emissions occur continuously or are separated by time intervals, or whether the intensity of light bursts is continuous or variable over time.
The applicant, through his invention, discloses a tool which is considered to be extremely useful for providing information pertinent to the above questions. However, the applicant does not intend to limit his invention to applications related to the analysis of bioluminescent light emissions. It is anticipated that the invention could also be useful in analyzing the structure of sparking activity, or virtually any other sort of light emitting activity in which emissions are of very short duration, emission occurring over a period of time.